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The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is still the best full-size luxury sedan, but considering it has been on sale since the 2014 model year, it’s time for a redesign. From what we’ve heard, it will go on sale next year as a 2020 model, potentially with an SAE Level 3 driver-assistance system. Now, thanks to our spy photographer’s latest shots, we also know it will come with a massive touchscreen.

We actually got our first glimpse at the 2020 S-Class’ cabin last summer. But while we could clearly see the digital gauge cluster, the center console remained completely covered. And even though there was no way to tell how large it would be, the cloth camouflage looked like it was hiding a Tesla-like vertical touchscreen. Now we know. It’s huge.

That said, it’s probably not quite as large as it appears at first glance. If you look closely, it looks like there’s a pretty thick bezel surrounding the screen itself, potentially cutting the total screen size by a couple inches. Underneath the screen, you can see a row of what appear to be capacitive-touch buttons, including a touch control area that likely replaces a volume knob.

The good news is, the lack of a volume knob probably won’t affect the driver much since the steering wheel appears to still use a scroll wheel to control volume. And while the layout of the steering wheel controls looks pretty similar to what we get on the current S-Class, it seems Mercedes has gotten rid of physical buttons for those controls. The German automaker also appears to have kept its column-mounted shift lever, although the stalks themselves are clearly all-new.

Considering how far from production this prototype looks, we’re pretty sure the production version won’t be revealed in Geneva next month. If we had to bet, we’d put our money on a Frankfurt Motor Show reveal this September.

Photo Source: CarPix

The post Spied! Next-Gen Mercedes-Benz S-Class Caught with Massive Touchscreen appeared first on Motortrend.

One day after Amazon saved itself untold millions—or more likely billions—of dollars by cancelling its secondary headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, the online retail giant confirmed it was the leading contributor to a $700 million round of investment in 10-year-old electric truck start-up Rivian.

“We’re inspired by Rivian’s vision for the future of electric transportation,” Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke said in a prepared statement. “RJ [Scaringe, Rivian CEO] has built an impressive organization, with a product portfolio and technology to match. We’re thrilled to invest in such an innovative company.”

In a few years, Rivian-based EV trucks could be quietly picking up and delivering Amazon packages at the secondary Amazon headquarters still being planned for Crystal City, Virginia, near Washington, D.C. Although the Rivian R1T unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November is a pickup truck, the skateboard-style electric-vehicle architecture underneath easily could accommodate a cube-van “top hat” to make it a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter–style delivery vehicle. A Rivian sport-utility vehicle called the R1S was also unveiled. Rivian says it will offer battery capacities that will allow for ranges of up to 400 miles on a single charge.

No word yet from General Motors, which on Wednesday Reuters reported would also invest in Rivian along with Amazon. The deal with GM and Amazon would make Plymouth, Michigan–based Rivian worth $1 to $2 billion, according to the Reuters report.

“We admire Rivian’s contribution to a future of zero emissions and an all-electric future,” was all GM would say in a prepared response to the Reuters report.

The post Amazon Confirms Huge Investment in EV Maker Rivian appeared first on Motortrend.

Have you ever bought a raffle ticket to try to win one of the new Corvettes offered by the National Corvette Museum? I know many that like to support the NCM with raffle ticket purchases. Not only does the money go to our favorite non-profit Corvette Museum, but we get to dream of what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that phone call telling us we are the winner!

Continue reading Changes to Kentucky Raffle Laws Now Limit the Sales of Corvette Raffle Tickets by the NCM at Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Through the office of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, better known as the USPTO, we’ve seen that GM engineers are thoroughly exploring active aerodynamics for vehicles based on a number of patent applications submitted over the last couple of years.

The trend started back in March 2017 with the patent application for “Vehicle Ride-Height Determination for Control of Vehicle Aerodynamics“.

Continue reading GM Files Patent Application for Active Aero Side Panels at Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

This week, Land Rover added a new special edition to its U.K. lineup. Called the Range Rover Sport HST, it gets carbon-fiber accents on the hood, grille, side vents, and tailgate. Inside, there’s some HST-specific trim and HST badging, which doesn’t sound particularly special. And since the release says nothing about it being offered in the U.S., there’s probably no point in converting its £81,250 base price to dollars. So why would we cover a Europe-only not-so-special edition? Because of what’s under the hood.

(Update: Land Rover has told us the HST actually will come to the U.S., but we’ll have to wait for an official announcement next week.)

Land Rover chose the Range Rover Sport HST to be the first vehicle in its lineup that gets its brand new, turbocharged and electric-supercharged 3.0-liter inline-six. This engine will replace Jaguar Land Rover’s dated V-6 that was more or less a V-8 with two cylinders missing. In the HST, it’s good for 395 hp and 405 lb-ft of torque, which Land Rover says is enough to launch the Range Rover Sport from 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds. For comparison, the 380-hp HSE Sport hits 60 mph in a claimed 6.8 seconds. Eventually, a 355-hp version will be offered, as well.

Like the four-cylinder Ingenium engine it’s based on, the new inline-six uses a twin-scroll turbocharger. But it also gets an electric supercharger that needs only half of a second to provide maximum boost, a feature Land Rover says virtually eliminates turbo lag. To improve efficiency by about 20 percent, the engine has been paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system.

“Inline six-cylinder engines are inherently better balanced than V-6 designs and our all-new Ingenium unit builds on that promise to optimize efficiency in all operating conditions,” said Nick Rogers, JLR’s head of product planning, in a release. “Advanced features, including an electric supercharger, ensure distinctive Range Rover Sport performance and responses, while the intelligent MHEV system harvests energy to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.”

We’re still waiting to hear when JLR plans to introduce its inline-six here in the U.S., but hopefully, we find out soon.

Source: Land Rover

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